"Have you prepared the offerings for the ceremony?"
"Yes, elder. The incense and spirit tablets are already in the ancestral hall."
"Good. The 100th Refinement is our clan's most sacred tradition and we cannot afford any mistakes."
The servants rushed through the Tang Clan compound. Red banners hung from every building. Ten years had passed since the last event and now the time had come again.
"I heard they're sending all the young masters this time," a servant whispered to another. "Even the illegitimate ones."
"Of course they are and the sect leader wants to see which of his children are truly worthy. The Abyssal Cauldron doesn't care about legitimacy or backing and only strength matters in that place."
"Six months though... how many do you think will survive?"
"Survive? We should pray that even one emerges and that's the whole point of the 100th Refinement. Only the strongest poison can come from the cruelest refinement."
Their voices faded as they turned a corner and disappeared into the bustling crowd.
In a modest chamber at the outer quarters footsteps approached rapidly. The door slid open with a bang and a young woman rushed inside. Her face was flushed from running and her breathing came in quick gasps.
"Young master Mujin!" Dan-bi called out. "Young master, where are you?"
A boy sat by the window and he looked up from the book he was reading. Tang Mujin had grown into a striking child over the past ten years. His features were sharp and his eyes held an intensity that made most people uncomfortable. Even at ten years old there was something fierce about him that warned others to keep their distance.
"I'm here, Dan-bi," Mujin said calmly and he closed his book. "Why are you running?"
Dan-bi pressed a hand to her chest and tried to catch her breath. She had been caring for Mujin since his birth and she was one of the few people in the clan who showed him genuine affection. Her hair had streaks of gray now but her eyes remained kind.
"The sect leader... he's summoned all his sons to the main hall," she said between breaths. "You need to go immediately, you know how he feels about tardiness."
Mujin stood slowly and his expression didn't change. "I see. So it's finally time."
"Time for what?" Dan-bi asked with worry creasing her forehead. "Young master, what's happening?"
"The 100th Refinement," Mujin replied, he walked past her to retrieve his outer robe. "They're going to announce it today."
Dan-bi's face went pale as she grabbed Mujin's sleeve. "No... they can't mean to send you there! You're just a child and that place is..."
"A death trap designed to produce the strongest poison user," Mujin finished for her. He gently removed her hand from his sleeve and his touch was surprisingly tender. "Don't worry, Dan-bi. I'll be fine."
"But young master, you don't have any backing in the clan! The other young masters all have their mothers' factions supporting them and training them. You've been left alone all these years, how can you possibly compete?"
Mujin looked at her and something in his eyes made her step back. For just a moment she saw something terrible lurking behind that young face. Then it was gone and he was just a ten-year-old boy again.
"I've had my own training," he said simply. "Now stop worrying and wait for me to return."
He walked toward the door but paused at the threshold. Without turning around he spoke again.
"Dan-bi, thank you for caring for me all these years. You're the only one in this clan who has shown me any kindness."
Dan-bi felt tears prick her eyes and she bowed deeply. "Please be careful, young master."
Mujin left and his footsteps echoed down the corridor.
What Dan-bi didn't know was that inside her body a carefully cultivated poison seed lay dormant. Mujin had planted it years ago using techniques that no one in this era should have known. It would never activate unless she betrayed him but if she did the poison would kill her in seconds.
He valued her kindness but he was not foolish enough to trust anyone completely.
The walk to the main hall felt longer than usual. Mujin moved through the compound and everywhere he looked people stared at him with disgust. Servants whispered behind their hands and junior disciples sneered openly.
"That's the illegitimate one," someone muttered. "I can't believe they're letting him attend."
"He'll probably die first in the Abyssal Cauldron anyway," another replied with a cruel laugh. "Good riddance to bad blood."
Mujin ignored them all and his face remained expressionless. He had endured ten years of this treatment and learned to let it wash over him like water off stone. Their contempt meant nothing because they were all already dead and they just didn't know it yet.
The main hall loomed ahead and it was a massive structure with curved roofs and intricate carvings. Green mist seeped from beneath the doors and it was poison mist that would kill any ordinary person who breathed it. But members of the Tang Clan had been building immunity since birth so they could walk through it without harm.
Mujin pushed open the heavy doors and stepped inside.
The interior was vast and dimly lit. Green mist swirled through the air and gave everything a dreamlike quality. On the terraces above stood ten women and each one was surrounded by her own group of supporters. These were the ten great madams of the Tang Clan and each one held significant power and influence.
They looked down at the floor below with cold calculating eyes.
In the center of the hall sat a single figure on an elevated throne. Tang Yunho's presence dominated the space and his aura pressed down on everyone like a physical weight. He looked older than when Mujin had first seen him but also stronger. A decade of cultivation had pushed him to heights that few could match.
On the floor below ten boys stood in a line. These were Mujin's half-brothers and the legitimate young masters of the Tang Clan. They ranged in age from eight to twelve and each one carried themselves with the arrogance that came from privilege and power.
Mujin walked forward and took his place at the end of the line. He was the last to arrive.
"Late as always," one of his brothers sneered. "Can't even manage to arrive on time."
"What do you expect from someone raised in the outer quarters?" another added. "He probably got lost."
Laughter rippled through the factions above but Mujin said nothing. He simply stood there and waited.
Tang Yunho's eyes swept over his sons and his expression was unreadable. When he spoke his voice carried no warmth but absolute authority.
"You are all here because you have reached the age of ten," he began. "In the Tang Clan this is the age when children become students and when potential begins to manifest. It is also the age when you will face your first true test."
The hall fell silent and even the mist seemed to still.
"In seven days the 100th Refinement will begin," Tang Yunho continued. "This event has been held every ten years since our clan's founding and it honors the greatest victory of our ancestors. One thousand years ago the righteous masters defeated the Poison Dragon and from that victory our clan rose to greatness."
Mujin's jaw tightened but he kept his face neutral.
"The Abyssal Cauldron awaits you," the sect leader said and his voice echoed through the hall. "It is a cave system deep beneath our compound where we have cultivated the most deadly poisons known to the murim. You will enter that place and you will survive there for six months. No food will be provided and no help will come. You will drink poison and breathe poison and live among poison."
One of the younger boys swayed on his feet but a sharp look from his mother steadied him.
"This is our version of Gu poisoning," Tang Yunho explained. "Just as the deadliest insect emerges when many venomous creatures are sealed together so too will the strongest among you emerge from the Abyssal Cauldron. Whoever survives and comes out after six months will be named the 100th Venom and will receive resources and training beyond your imagination."
The madams above leaned forward with interest because this title carried immense prestige. The 100th Venom would be marked as the greatest talent of their generation.
"All children of the Tang Clan who have reached ten years of age must participate," the sect leader declared. "No exceptions and no excuses. If you refuse you will be expelled from the clan. If you die inside the Cauldron then you were simply too weak to carry our name."
The words hung in the air like a death sentence.
"You have seven days to prepare," Tang Yunho said as he stood from his throne. "Use them wisely because they may be the last days of your life. Dismissed."
The boys bowed and began filing out of the hall. Mujin turned to leave but he felt eyes on him. He glanced up and saw several of the madams watching him with expressions ranging from contempt to curiosity. None of them looked at him with hope or support.
He was alone and they all knew it.
The walk back to his chamber should have been uneventful but Mujin had barely left the main hall when someone stepped into his path.
Tang Mu-dae stood blocking the corridor and he was flanked by three other boys. As the tenth young master he should have been low in the hierarchy but his mother was the seventh madam and she commanded one of the largest factions in the clan. That backing made Mu-dae bold and arrogant despite his lack of talent.
"Well, well," Mu-dae said with a sneer. "If it isn't the bastard child. Did you enjoy the meeting?"
Mujin moved to walk around him but Mu-dae stepped to the side and blocked his path again.
"I'm talking to you," Mu-dae said and his voice rose with anger. "You should show proper respect to your betters."
"Move," Mujin said simply and his tone was flat.
Mu-dae's face flushed red and he was known throughout the clan for being sensitive about his lack of poison talent. Other young masters could already cultivate basic toxins but Mu-dae struggled with even the simplest techniques. It made him vicious and quick to lash out.
"You dare speak to me that way?" Mu-dae snarled. "You're nothing but the son of a dead whore and you have no right to even stand in my presence!"
Mujin's eyes flickered with something dangerous but his voice remained calm. "I said move."
"Make me!" Mu-dae shouted and his hand flashed to his sleeve.
Poison needles shot through the air and they were aimed directly at Mujin's throat. It was a killing strike and one that would have been impossible to avoid at such close range.
But Mujin's hand moved faster than thought.
His fingers plucked the needles from the air and caught all three between his index and middle fingers. The needles trembled slightly and their tips were black with poison.
The corridor went silent and Mu-dae's eyes widened with shock. Even his followers stepped back because catching poison needles mid-flight required skill that most adults didn't possess.
Mujin looked at the needles between his fingers and then at Mu-dae. A slow smile spread across his face and it was not a kind smile.
"These are poorly made," Mujin observed. "The poison is weak and the balance is off. Did you make them yourself?"
Mu-dae's shock turned to rage and his face went bright red. "How dare you... I'll kill you! I'll—"
"You'll do nothing," Mujin said and his smile widened. "Because you can't."
Something in Mujin's eyes made Mu-dae freeze because for just a moment he saw something that shouldn't exist in a ten-year-old's gaze. He saw centuries of knowledge and an understanding of poison that made his own pathetic attempts look like a child playing with toys.
Mujin took a step forward and Mu-dae took a step back.
"You know what?" Mujin said softly and his voice carried a dangerous edge. "I've been patient for ten years. I've endured insults and contempt and watched this clan parade around like they're something special. But maybe it's time I stopped being patient."
His fingers tightened around the poison needles.
"Maybe it's time I started my revenge."